Collagen Revisited + Acid Reflux
Published 5.15.2024: I'm going to revisit the topic of collagen because my personal osteoporosis update isn't ready to go yet, and because I may be changing my mind. The last time I wrote about collagen, I declared that it did work for skin and hair (not muscle growth). I still drink the (relatively) cheaper collagen that you can purchase from Costco (not too long ago they had a sale and we stocked up). However, the more I read about collagen and the lack of actual research into its effects, the more unsure I get.
Thus, I'm going to drink the collagen that we have on hand (because that money is already spent), then I'm going to stop drinking it and see if I notice any effects. This will take at least two months, because I have a lot of collagen powder (it was a really good sale). Then I imagine that it will take a few weeks or even a month before I notice anything. One reason I'm embarking on this trial is that I've been reading and thinking about the transit of the collagen through the gut. Since the collagen would get broken down into the amino acids that are its constituents, what's the difference between drinking the collagen and just eating food containing those amino acids?
My suspicion is that there is no difference, and I am wasting my money. But the "improvements" I noticed in my skin, hair and finger nails were/are real… I mean, it's not like I entered the experiment looking to see a positive change. I did it because I have a friend pushing a collagen "elixir" from her multi-level marketing (MLM) scam and I wanted to proved that it was a scam. Thus a placebo effect of the powder would seem to be unlikely. I still think her MLM is a scam, but since then (3 years now) I've put collagen powder into my morning herbal tea.
One effect that I've noticed is that adding collagen to my tea (which is how I drink it) buffers the tea a bit making it slightly easier to drink when I'm having an acid reflux flare up. The supposed effects of collagen do NOT include lessening acid reflux, but it is something I've noticed. Of course, others things can be added to the tea, which is an herbal rooibos, to buffer it. Better yet, resolving the acid reflux issue would be better.
Acid reflux is interesting to read about. Plenty of people have ideas as to how it can be exacerbated or cured, but generally it seems to be an individual thing with each person having a trigger or various triggers. For me, alcohol is definitely a trigger, as it overeating late at night. That those two tend to go hand in hand (in my case) is neither here nor there.
Lately I've had better control of my reflux because I have restricted my nighttime eating and have greatly lessened my drinking at any time. Interesting to note that for me it's not enough just not to drink at night. All alcohol, whenever consumed, seems to count as far as reflux is concerned. So, for example, if I imbibe early in the day because it's a holiday and I'm watching a game, then not drinking further until dinner and only having one or two glasses of wine still results in a flare. It's not when I drink, it's the total number of drinks. And to be EXTRA CLEAR, my example was a rare event— NOT something that was typical for me.
I realize not many people read these treatises, but I'm still nervous discussing alcohol consumption. Doesn't change the fact that cutting alcohol down to almost nothing is a great way to tamp down flares (for me). As always, I am not a medical professional of ANY kind. What works for me may NOT work for you at all.
Thus, I'm going to drink the collagen that we have on hand (because that money is already spent), then I'm going to stop drinking it and see if I notice any effects. This will take at least two months, because I have a lot of collagen powder (it was a really good sale). Then I imagine that it will take a few weeks or even a month before I notice anything. One reason I'm embarking on this trial is that I've been reading and thinking about the transit of the collagen through the gut. Since the collagen would get broken down into the amino acids that are its constituents, what's the difference between drinking the collagen and just eating food containing those amino acids?
My suspicion is that there is no difference, and I am wasting my money. But the "improvements" I noticed in my skin, hair and finger nails were/are real… I mean, it's not like I entered the experiment looking to see a positive change. I did it because I have a friend pushing a collagen "elixir" from her multi-level marketing (MLM) scam and I wanted to proved that it was a scam. Thus a placebo effect of the powder would seem to be unlikely. I still think her MLM is a scam, but since then (3 years now) I've put collagen powder into my morning herbal tea.
One effect that I've noticed is that adding collagen to my tea (which is how I drink it) buffers the tea a bit making it slightly easier to drink when I'm having an acid reflux flare up. The supposed effects of collagen do NOT include lessening acid reflux, but it is something I've noticed. Of course, others things can be added to the tea, which is an herbal rooibos, to buffer it. Better yet, resolving the acid reflux issue would be better.
Acid reflux is interesting to read about. Plenty of people have ideas as to how it can be exacerbated or cured, but generally it seems to be an individual thing with each person having a trigger or various triggers. For me, alcohol is definitely a trigger, as it overeating late at night. That those two tend to go hand in hand (in my case) is neither here nor there.
Lately I've had better control of my reflux because I have restricted my nighttime eating and have greatly lessened my drinking at any time. Interesting to note that for me it's not enough just not to drink at night. All alcohol, whenever consumed, seems to count as far as reflux is concerned. So, for example, if I imbibe early in the day because it's a holiday and I'm watching a game, then not drinking further until dinner and only having one or two glasses of wine still results in a flare. It's not when I drink, it's the total number of drinks. And to be EXTRA CLEAR, my example was a rare event— NOT something that was typical for me.
I realize not many people read these treatises, but I'm still nervous discussing alcohol consumption. Doesn't change the fact that cutting alcohol down to almost nothing is a great way to tamp down flares (for me). As always, I am not a medical professional of ANY kind. What works for me may NOT work for you at all.